Taking your business to Hong Kong was the first step. Congratulation! Now it is time to take advantage of every available opportunity envisaged in the business dream by fully utilizing the HKV. From the local population to China and the entire Far East, the sky is the only limit. However, one of the major bottlenecks that await you on the way is funding challenge.
How do you get the requisite funding to expand your company? What are the available funding opportunities that are in line with company targets? This post seeks to answer these questions by outlining the top business funding opportunities.
The Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund
This is a non-profit organization established in 2015 by Alibaba Group to assist young people in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The funding opportunity looks at young entrepreneurs from a holistic point of view and targets empowering them to become real investors. The different programs are aimed at assisting young investors to identify opportunities and utilize the Alibaba Ecosystem to grow and become multinationals.
How the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund work?
The program is operated in partnership with the Hong Kong Cyberport Management program as well as the Technology Parks Corporation that seek to identify and support young entrepreneurs especially in the technology sector.
The participants are required to participate in various events that culminate in the selection of the best 24 performing teams. The winning teams receive a total of up to US$1 million to actualize their ideas.
To make the funding more inclusive, it includes diverse teams in areas such as Fintech, IoT, Wearables, Edetech, Health and Aging, Sensors, Smart Cities, Artificial Intelligence, E-commerce, and robotics. By joining hands with top giants, Hong Kong targets to keep the wheel of innovation rolling and ultimately become the indefatigable leader not just in Asia, but globally too.
To qualify for inclusion in the program, it is important to look at the Cyberport and Technology parks in Hong Kong to establish the entry criteria. Note that there is great bias towards startups in the tech sector.
The Hong Kong business Angel Network
The Hong Kong business Angel Network is perhaps one of the most vibrant funding frameworks for enterprises. The network targets identifying high potential tech startups and support them for faster growth. To ensure that there are enough funds for new entrepreneurs, the Business Angel Network brings together other big companies that are committed to seeing other businesses blossom into a big operational ecosystem. The funding network can be categorized into three different units;
The Big Data HR SaaS AI Tech
The Award Winning Global Talent Pool and Digital Recruiting SaaS target to raise the US $ 50 billion to support young entrepreneurs. The fund is supported by top hotels that commit to contributing between HK $100,000 and 30,000,000 towards the program. Once the high potential startups are identified, they are supported in every way to become top incorporations. Then, the investors convert their support into equity or debt.
The racehorse dealership
This is a unique funding opportunity that falls outside the conventional banking model. The dealership involves selling racehorses and using the funds to loan startups. 12% of the cash raised through the dealership is used for identifying startups Hong Kong business that needs support and helping them to start operating profitably.
Property company startup
This is a great opportunity for companies in Hong Kong to leap forward with expert support. The target is assisting clients to develop the best websites and databases for their operations. With a minimum capital investment of HK$25,000, a startup is sure of getting 45% ROI. This is a very effective strategy to enter the fast growing real estate industry.
The Hong Kong business Angel Network seeks to open new doors for new companies so that they can enrich their objectives and achieve more.
The Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA)
The main mission of HKVCA is to drive a vibrant enterprise capital as well as the private equity industry in Asia. To foster each member’s contribution through innovation and value addition, individual corporates are allowed to table their deals and match them with potential investors.
While the ideas of investors who come to Hong Kong are really noble, rarely do they realize that hold even greater potential. With HKVCA coming into play, all companies are able to present their ideas and map the bigger vision. A new startup on mobile apps might simply be interested in direct sales to raise profitability. However, there might be a bigger potential in partnering with financial companies to form Fintechs. This is the type of liaison and support that HKVCA provides to new companies.
To realize even more from a startup, it is important to look at the bigger picture and remain objective. All the stakeholders in the industry will start trooping in seeking opportunities to acquire or partner with you. It is the best way to get more from your innovativeness.
To learn how to get support from the HKVCA, make sure to follow their events such as the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forums, LendIt Fintech Networking Breakfast, and others.
TIE (The Indus Entrepreneurs)
The TIE started in the Silicon Valley and is now operational in more than 30 cities in 17 nations internationally. The driving force behind TIE is that ideas are all that businesses require to grow. In particular, TIE focuses on five main pillars of entrepreneurship;
Mentoring
Though many young people have great ideas, they are often hampered by the lack of proper mentorship. By linking investors with mentors, it becomes easy to appreciate the far they have come from. This gives the new investors courage, commitment, and perseverance to march ahead no matter the circumstances.
Networking
Success in entrepreneurship can be accelerated to a great extent through networking. As a startup, you will realize that networking can yield more and keep the cost of marketing very low. The most important thing is networking with the right stakeholders.
Education
Even though an entrepreneur might have a great idea, how to actualize it is a different thing altogether. However, TIE helps to facilitate proper training of the entrepreneurs to ensure they have all the skills for taking enterprises to the next level.
Incubation
Every idea needs careful facilitation at the initial stages. By promoting incubation of all ideas for investors, investors are sure that their ideas will be received well by the market and rest assured of higher Returns on Investment.
Funding
Entrepreneurs’ biggest obstacle on their road top success is the lack of funding. TIE helps entrepreneurs to access funds they require for faster growth. By using their programs such as the TIE Young Entrepreneurs and Mentor Match, the journey to making an enterprise successful stops being a one man match. TIE starts walking with you so that every hiccup is handled professionally. Make sure to visit their website to establish the nature of support that the enterprise in Hong Kong requires.
Arbor Ventures
Over the last decade, perhaps the biggest online progress is the emergence of e-commerce stores. The retail model has brought modesty to the way people do shopping because people can walk through a company right from the comfort of their houses. On the other hand, companies can operate without incurring high costs of maintaining expensive stores downtown. On the same line, Arbor Ventures, a capital firm, focuses on the intersection of digital e-commerce and big data financial services. Arbor Ventures helps companies and entrepreneurs in three main ways;
Identifying opportunities
Most entrepreneurs who have great ideas often fail to realize the great opportunities that await them. Arbor Ventures works in Hong Kong and other countries to help identify specific businesses that have unique ideas and come in to assist them to realize key opportunities. Because of a large number of people looking forward to starting e-commerce stores, the opportunities are equally immense if you work with the right support firms such as Arbor Ventures.
Nurturing talent
The ability to sustain an entrepreneurial venture is largely dependent on the talents available. Arbor Venture works with entrepreneurs to help mentor the staff and recruit the right talent. This is the best roadmap for creating better products and staying ahead of competitors.
Networking the company
You can only attain full potential of business if you get into the right networks. Arbor Ventures opens the door for great cooperation between a business and different partners. If you thought that the app you developed could only work with a single client, Arbor Ventures will help you liaise with more stakeholders and help to drive growth faster.
Nest
Nest is made up of a special team of highly dedicated startup experts whose mission is to empower founders in the entire globe. With their headquarters in Hong Kong, Nest has perfected its focus on identifying and nurturing the best enterprises in three main ways;
Helping startups identify the next round of growth
Many entrepreneurial establishments tend to experience a period of decline after reaching their peak. However, this does not have to be the case because Nest will help you to identify the next round of growth and follow it. Whether operating in the tech sector or health niche, getting the bigger picture will help to identify the new opportunities to venture into. The current success should not edge you closer to the point of decline; rather, it should anchor the business to the next phase of growth.
Fundraising
When you become part of Nest, funding will no longer be an obstacle to your success. It organizes fundraising events that will generate all the money required to catapult the investment to the next phase. Nest will not just help you raise the cash, but ensure that the associated skills are adequately nurtured so that you can grow faster.
Market expansion
Nest does not target simply helping you succeed in at the local Hong Kong level, but also to China and Entire Asia. Using its proven and tested business models, an investor will learn how to make the best of the talents, available structures, and build on partnership. For example, you can easily enter the Chinese market by identifying a strategic working partner. This will increase the overall revenue flow, raise the company’s tax substance and reach a multinational status.
NOVA
Nova Founders Capital works on and backs development and sustainable large-scale enterprises. The company comprises of experts who work tirelessly to make every enterprise more valuable and to grow rapidly in the local and international space.
Unlike other support ventures, Nova seeks to strike the right balance between offering guidance and creation of the right management teams to shape a business for faster growth. Therefore, Nova injects the expertise required to accelerate the startup towards achieving its target and outgrowing the original objectives. Whether a business is at startup or has been in operation for some time, Nova will make it possible to see things differently and redefine success.
A good business culture is perhaps the strongest pillar that can help it realize the hidden potential. Whether an investor is the hospitality industry or financial services, Nova team creates a bridge between the current status and the dream level. Using other top companies in their network, even new entrepreneurs are able to see themselves in the same positions so that they can actualize them.
To make your venture realistic, NOVA will provide progressive financial support and walk with you to the end. This is what many investors need to develop the right monetary policies, networks, and edge faster towards their success. By identifying and using the best practices in human resources, financial management, leadership, and marketing, no obstacle will stand on your way to success.
With NOVA, you only need to think bigger to move to a new market, open new branches and realize full business potential. With over 30 years in operations, NOVA has seen many businesses march to success, and it will be their pleasure also to help you walk through the same path. Visit their website to see how your venture can get help for faster growth.
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